Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market | Online (FILMART Online) will run as a virtual event from 15 to 18 March. As one of the leading showcases to promote the entertainment industry, FILMART Online will feature a wide range of film and TV productions and connect major players from the global film and TV industries, creating new business opportunities through a unique online platform.

This year’s event will also feature a distinguished line-up of industry experts speaking in a series of webinars, analysing the latest market trends and industry development in the post-pandemic era. The speakers will include representatives from leading content production companies including Facebook, Tencent’s WeTV and iflix, Indian over-the-top (OTT) platform Eros Now, WarnerMedia, Hunan TV and iQIYI.

One-stop sourcing platform facilitates online release of 2,000+ productions

FILMART Online will bring together around 600 exhibitors and more than 6,000 industry representatives. A number of prominent Hong Kong film companies, including Edko Films Limited, Emperor Motion Pictures, Golden Scene Company Limited, Mandarin Entertainment, Media Asia Film, Mega-Vision Project Workshop, Mei Ah Entertainment Group, One Cool Film Production, PCCW Media Limited, Sil-Metropole Organisation, Sun Entertainment, TVBI and Universe Films Distribution will participate in the event. Other exhibitors include film companies from Mainland China, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, Europe and America, together with first-time participants from Czechia, Fiji and Luxembourg, releasing and promoting more than 2,000 film and TV productions in total.

Also being held from 15 to 17 March is the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), Asia’s leading film-financing platform. Highlighting its ongoing efforts to create business exchange opportunities for film workers, HAF will exhibit 28 film projects in the development stage and 20 work-in-progress film projects.

As a one-stop sourcing platform for the industry, FILMART Online provides exhibitors with a dedicated website through which they can showcase company information and details of their productions, allowing authorised buyers to enjoy previews through the use of digital rights management (DRM) encryption and digital watermarking technologies. The platform also employs big data and artificial intelligence technology to provide an advanced search function that enables buyers to locate the most suitable titles quickly and easily.

Online business matching sessions will be organised during the event, promoting trade and cooperation by putting together lists of suitable exhibitors that match buyers’ specific needs. Buyers can also take advantage of the platform’s built-in video conferencing and SMS features to connect with buyers around the world at any time.

Distinguished experts share insights on post-pandemic market trends at webinars

FILMART Online will host a number of webinars covering a wide range of themes and topics relevant to the industry, delivered by a star-studded line-up of speakers. They include Saurabh Doshi, Director Entertainment Partnerships, Asia-Pacific at Facebook, who will share his thoughts on Facebook Watch’s global and Asia-Pacific consumption trends, and how Facebook can help content creators and publishers in the region. Kaichen Li, Head of WeTV and iflix at Tencent, will shed light on the two companies’ market priorities, content and brand positioning, and how they forge pan-regional partnerships to bring their content to the rest of the world. And Ali Hussein, CEO of Eros Now, will share the company’s global expansion roadmap, original content strategy and the application of technological innovations on its platform.

Other distinguished speakers at the webinars include Lester Hu, Head of Formats & International Business, Hunan TV; Sakti Parantean, Co-Managing Director, Fremantle Indonesia, Kuen-bum Lee, Director of Global Business, Munhwa Broadcasting Corp; Janine Stein, Editorial Director, ContentAsia, Kuek Yu-Chuang, Vice President for International Business, iQIYI; David Simonsen, SVP of Business and Digital Distribution, Asia, WarnerMedia; Kazufumi Nagasawa, Managing Director & Chief Content Officer, Hulu Japan; Ruby Chen, Co-Founder and CEO, CNEX, Rudy Buttingnol, President & CEO, Knowledge Network Corporation; and Vikram Channa, Vice President, Head of Content & Products for East and South East Asia, Discovery, Inc.